Why do rom-coms always get happy endings, and not family dramas? With Saving Face, Wu dares to ask: Why not both?

| May 4, 2022

Saving Face could get really preachy if it wanted to. But that it addresses multiple concerns with a light touch is one of its virtues.

| Jan 11, 2021

Abjectly collapses into feel-good nonsense.

| Feb 9, 2007

The message here, as in every quirky ethnic romantic comedy, is 'follow your heart.' But wouldn't it be great if for once the characters cared more about the continuity of antiquated cultural traditions than their own personal happiness?

Full Review | Sep 26, 2005

... surprisingly fresh and charming overall.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Jul 5, 2005

Goes beyond the obvious into something a lot more current and meaningful: the need to make your own love, even if society looks askance.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Jul 1, 2005

Wu has a keen ear for the rhythm of speech, and much of the humour rests in the conversations' staccato beat -- in breezy put-downs and tossed-off asides and disgruntled mutterings.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Jul 1, 2005

[Saving Face] gets its heart pumping by putting its lovers smack in the middle of family and community.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Jun 24, 2005

A laugh riot it is not. A sweet, true and, at times, universal love story it is.

| Jun 23, 2005

A first film with a deft comedic touch and a trio of charming stars.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Jun 23, 2005

This culture-clash, generation-gap comic drama is clichd and corny. But it's also charming.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Jun 23, 2005

Saving Face's saving graces are its sense of humor and its strong cast.

Full Review | Original Score: B- | Jun 23, 2005

It has the heart and spirit of a true romantic comedy, and a lightness of touch that you rarely see in a debut picture.

| Jun 18, 2005

Effortlessly cosmopolitan and consistently funny.

| Original Score: B+ | Jun 16, 2005

A first-time writer-director, Wu handles most of the movie with breezy confidence, drawing strong performances from all of her leading actors.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Jun 10, 2005

[Chen] reduces the wattage on her luminousness to make Ma seem sympathetically homely without turning downright pitiful. It's an engaging performance.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Jun 10, 2005

Unexpected pregnancy and family politics can be heavy, dramatically explosive issues, but Wu tempers her direction with empathy and her script with well-placed laughs, attempting to bridge both cultural and generation gaps without alienating either.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Jun 9, 2005

An affable comedy.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Jun 3, 2005

Wu's film takes the received wisdom of The Joy Luck Club for a delightful spin through unwed motherhood, lesbianism and Chinese-American family values.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Jun 2, 2005

Tender and often extremely funny, Alice Wu's delightful debut feature, Saving Face, is a Chinese-American lesbian romance that wisely explores the tug-of-war between tradition and the need to be true to one's heart.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | May 27, 2005